SINGAPORE — The National Orchid Garden is set for its first facelift in 20 years, which will allow it to showcase a larger variety of orchids from all over the world, including rare species found in higher altitudes.

To be completed in phases by 2020, the plans were announced by Minister of State for National Development Desmond Lee yesterday (Jan 28) at the opening of the World of Flowers Exhibition.

Three of the garden’s display houses will undergo changes to improve the tropical montane — high elevation — forest experience for visitors. The Cool House, for example, will be fitted with a new climate control system, allowing researchers to grow species that cannot be grown currently and double the number of orchid species showcased from the current 1,000.

In total, the enhancements are expected to cost around S$35 million. The plans for the Cool House are partially funded by a S$10 million donation from Sembcorp Industries to the Garden City Fund, the largest single donation by a corporate partner to date. The Cool House will be renamed the Sembcorp Cool House.

Donations were also made by the family of the late Lady Yuen Peng McNeice, which will go towards the enhancement of the Yuen Peng McNeice Bromeliad Collection enclosure. Another donation — anonymously made — will partially fund the enhancement of Tan Hoon Siang Mist House.

Works will begin next year, and the garden will remain open throughout. Describing the improvements, Singapore Botanic Gardens director Nigel Taylor said: “The Bromeliad Collection, which represent the lowland tropics will be the first (of the) three seamless connected features, second will be the Mist House, and third, the much expanded Cool House which represents the environment of mountain tops in the tropical environment.”

The Sembcorp Cool House will have two-level access, so that visitors can get closer to orchids and plants located at higher levels. A new deck overlooking the nursery area behind the garden will also be open to visitors interested in observing the orchids’ cultivation process.

Located in the Singapore Botanic Gardens, the National Orchid Garden sees an average of 500,000 visitors every year, and numbers are expected to grow with the enhancements. “We anticipate that the National Orchid Garden will be able to accommodate this increase comfortably, and that visitors will still be able to have an enjoyable experience,” said Dr Taylor.

Asked if entrance fees — currently S$5 for adults — would increase as a result of the improvements, the National Parks Board said there would not be one for the time being.